ARTICLES ABOUT LEGAL STATUS BY DATE - PAGE 4

Jan 28 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is unveiling the broad outlines of an immigration reform proposal on Monday that they will try to push through Congress this year. The move comes as President Barack Obama will also ratchet up pressure with a policy speech on Tuesday in Nevada on immigration - a campaign promise he made last year to Hispanics when running for re-election. Many important details still have to be worked out before the outlines can be translated into legislation.

* Hispanic activists say drive is "heavy on enforcement" * Republicans split on "amnesty," but see room for compromise By Tim Gaynor PHOENIX, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Illegal immigrant Maria Duran sat up all night outside the Arizona state capitol and prayed for an immigration overhaul before welcoming news Monday of a proposal that could give her legal status but left her wanting more clarity. A bipartisan group of Republican and Democrat senators announced "tough but fair" steps that they hoped could be passed by Congress this year to give 11 million illegal immigrants a chance to eventually become American citizens.

(Adds comment from White House, advocacy and business groups) By Rachelle Younglai and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has agreed on an immigration reform plan that would provide a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States but only after borders are better secured. The plan, unveiled a day before President Barack Obama is to give a policy speech on immigration in Nevada, tackles the most explosive issue - how to deal with the millions of foreigners living in the United States illegally.

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Proposed changes to immigration law unveiled on Monday could be the answer to the prayers of illegal immigrants like Maria Duran, but she is waiting to see the details. A bipartisan group of Republican and Democrat senators announced "tough but fair" steps that they hoped could be passed by Congress this year to give 11 million illegal immigrants a chance to eventually become American citizens. Activists like Duran, who sat up all night with others at a prayer vigil for immigration reform outside the capitol building in Phoenix, Arizona, were pleased but cautious.

DENVER (Reuters) - Three Colorado bishops said on Thursday they will review a Catholic Church hospital's defense of a lawsuit that argues fetuses do not have legal status - apparently contradicting the Church's teaching on life issues. The case stems from a malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit filed by Jeremy Stodghill in the 2006 death of his seven-month pregnant wife Lori at a Catholic hospital in Canon City, Colorado. Her twin fetuses also died. Stodghill filed the suit against Colorado-based Catholic Health Initiatives, which operates hospitals in 14 states, claiming physicians made no effort to save the fetuses by performing a cesarean section.

Elections do have consequences. After losing the popular vote for the fifth time in the past six presidential elections, I expected to see Republicans make some changes or risk following the dinosaur and the dodo on the path to extinction. But even I have been surprised to see so many changes so soon, beginning with the Grand Old Party's new vigor for making amigos with Hispanic voters. For the first time since the collapse of President George W. Bush's bipartisan immigration-reform effort in 2007, a genuine debate over immigration is re-emerging within the GOP. The debate stalled primarily over Bush's proposed "pathway to citizenship" to bring the estimated 11 million people in the U.S. illegally out of the shadows.

The owner of a Mt. Prospect massage parlor was sentenced to life in prison today for using violence and threats to force four East European women to engage in prostitution without pay and at times little to no subsistence. Alex Campbell rambled on for more than an hour, claiming the prosecution was racially motivated, before U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman imposed the maximum punishment possible. Campbell branded the young, vulnerable women with tattoos and renamed them into his “family,” prosecutors said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that he is very confident he can work with the U.S. Congress to reform immigration laws, and expects a bill will be introduced soon after his January inauguration. The bill should include a pathway to legal status for illegal immigrants already in the United States, including people brought to the United States illegally as children, as well as strong border security measures and penalties for companies that hire undocumented workers, Obama said.